The Young
by SSA James
Summary: Not much has changed in the last few years for Danny and his friends, but it could be very different soon.


**Set in the trio's junior year of high school, making them sixteen/seventeen. The events of Phantom Planet never happened (meaning no one knows about Danny's secret identity). **

Sam walked tiredly into her room, stripping off her dress from the night before, shrinking into a large "Fenton Works" t-shirt. She threw herself onto her plush, black and purple coated bed. Sam hadn't even been awake long enough for her hang over to kick in.

_This is why I should never let Tucker talk me into drinking, _she thought to herself. Normally, she didn't like to do it, because it led her to make stupid decisions.

Right as she was about to fall asleep, her phone rang out with Tucker and Danny's pre-recorded ringtone of them screaming "SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM".

Sam groaned and let it cycle through a few more "SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM, PICK UP THE PHONE, SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM"s before actually answering.

"What's up?" She answered.

"Hey, it's me," Danny's solemn voice conflicted with the cheery sound of it on the recording.

"Any particular reason you're calling me at five in the morning?" She asked, knowing fully well why he was calling her at five in the morning.

"You left," He said, simply.

"Yeah, about an hour ago. Was that it?"

"Uhm, do you know if we, uh, did anything?"

"Yeah. But we do 'anything' all the time, Danny," Sam said, sitting up and tucking her phone between her shoulder and ear, sweeping her just-past-shoulder length, black hair into a ponytail.

"Yeah, but we're usually sober," Danny said. "And usually not at parties," Sam shrugged, even though she knew Danny couldn't see her.

"Does it really matter?" She asked.

"Not really, I guess," Danny got quiet for a moment. "You still coming over later for movie night?"

Sam knew he was changing the subject and she was grateful for it. She didn't really want to talk to Danny about their drunken encounter, which is why she left as soon as she'd woken up next to him in Tucker's attic.

"You know it. I'll see you tonight," Sam said, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "Love you, Danny."

"Love you, too, Sam," Sam hung up tossing her phone onto the floor and slamming her head back onto the pillow, falling asleep almost instantly.

_**At Tucker's**_

Danny continued to stare at his phone after Sam hung up, looking at the background picture of him and his two best friends last Halloween, with Danny dressed as Captain America, Sam dressed as Thor, and Tucker as the Black Widow.

Sam always had a nonchalant attitude towards sex. That made it hard for Danny to tell her that he liked her more than a friend. Every time he would try, she would change the subject. It didn't really matter to her if they were dating or not, they still had sex, and they still loved each other more than anything.

Danny grabbed a pillow, covering his face and groaning loudly. "Oh, boo, a girl wants to have emotionless sex with me," He scolded himself sarcastically. "Quit being such a bitch, Fenton."

"Dude, just tell her," Tucker slurred from the floor. He was still a little buzzed from all his drinking.

"Don't be stupid, Tucker," Danny said, tossing the pillow at him.

"Why not, dude?" Tucker asked, searching for his glasses before Danny handed them to him. "You guys have been fucking each other for like two years."

"Yeah, but that's different," Danny said, "She thinks of us having sex as more of 'we're just really good friends', not 'I really like her'," Danny had had to explain this concept to Tucker multiple times since he had told him that he'd lost his virginity to Sam sophomore year.

"Danny, she's a girl. I mean, she's a Sam-girl, but she's still a girl. She's also pretty hot. She has feelings for you, otherwise she would have just banged any other guy."

"Dude, I have told you like four hundred times," Danny said, pushing his hand across his face. "She _does _have feelings for me. But only as a friend. She trusts me."

"Whine, whine, whine," Tucker said, lying back down on the floor. "Just fucking tell her, you pussy."

_**Monday Morning, Casper High**_

"You didn't want me to pick you up?" Danny asked Sam, getting out of his very beat up Toyota. He looked down at his small friend. While Sam had blossomed in the way of feminine curves, Danny had just grown taller. Much taller. He looked like he'd been pulled through a taffy stretcher. The top of Sam's head barely reached his shoulder.

"Nah, I needed the fresh air," Sam said, hoisting her spider back pack up higher.

"I'm just glad I don't need to get rides from my dad in the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle," Danny said, locking his car even though he knew no one would take the time to steal it.

"Only nine more months, guys," Tucker said, approaching his friends. Like Danny, he'd also gotten taller, but he wasn't as gangly as his half-ghost friend.

Danny and Sam both groaned. "And then another fucking year after that," Sam said as they started their trek from the parking lot to the Casper high main building. Not much had changed since their freshman year, ghosts still terrorized the students, Dash still pushed smaller kids into lockers, and Paulina still commanded the male populations' attention. Well, most of the male population. One certain half ghost kid no longer carried his card to the Paulina fan club.

"Don't remind me," Danny said. "Do you think I could avoid Lancer's?"

"Not likely," Sam said. "He's been up your ass lately."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, he thinks I have 'more potential'," Danny said, putting air quotes around his words. Lancer really had gotten on him about applying to college for early admissions. He seemed to forget that Danny was a strictly C student.

"Potential to be gay," Danny sighed as his back pack was shoved over his head. Even though he was taller than Dash now, that didn't stop the school's golden boy from picking on him.

"That's not an insult, Dash," Sam said. Danny intended to ignore Dash, finding it easier to just go about his day and not give Dash the satisfaction of knowing that he had any sort of effect on Danny.

But Dash had different plans.

While Sam was fixing Danny's back pack, her back turned to Dash, Dash shot a quick look to Danny before using his little finger to lift the edge of Sam's dark purple miniskirt, enough to see the outline of her panties under her black tights.

"Hey, Manson, why don't you spend a little time away from Nerdville?" Dash asked, still looking under Sam's skirt. Many had noticed that Sam had grown over the years.

Danny quickly grabbed Sam before she could crash her combat boot against Dash's skull. Danny could have easily picked Sam up with only one arm, but with how hard she was struggling against him to get to Dash, he decided it would be safer with two.

"You misogynistic piece of shit," Sam growled out, pushing down on Danny's arm. "Danny, put me down!"

"You should probably get out of here," Tucker warned. Dash laughed, but his eyes showed fear. It was common knowledge that Sam was terrifying.

"Psycho pixie," Dash yelled over his shoulder as he walked away.

"Women aren't objects that you can just do what you please with!" Sam hurled back, earning her some snickers and looks from the people in the hallway.

Danny and Tucker shared a look, shaking their heads. "We should just let her beat the shit out of him."

"Can't let her get suspended in the first two weeks of school," Tucker said. They turned down the hall to their shared homeroom.

"You can put me down, Danny," Sam said, her mouth still pursed in anger. Danny shifted her over, holding her under his left arm.

"Only if you promise not to kill anyone," Tucker said.

"Fuck you," Sam said. "He had it coming. Sexist bastard."

"Hey, I'm all for you kicking his balls into his mouth," Tucker said, putting his hands up. "Just maybe wait until we're not in the hallowed halls of Casper High."

"Any other time, though," Danny said, setting the Goth down on her feet in front of their classroom.

"Can't you just do some ghost shit and pull his intestines out his nose?" Sam asked, hiking up her back pack as they walked into the classroom. As always, they were early. Not even Mr. Callus had come in yet. They liked to avoid the rush of students coming in at the last minute.

"Somehow I don't think that's what the good guy is supposed to do," Danny said, taking his normal seat at the back of the class.

"Okay, maybe just possess him and make him call Lancer a fat fuck," Tucker said. "At least get him a detention."

"Yeah, I'm not doing that either," Danny said, flipping open his notebook to finish the English assignment that he hadn't had the time to work on the night before because of a run in with Skulker.

Sam pulled Danny's notebook to her, and took out her own.

"I thought you weren't going to do any more of my assignments," Danny asked, peeking over her shoulder as she started writing.

"Shut up or I won't."

_**Lunch hour, Wednesday**_

"There's no fucking way," Tucker said, his attention on his PDA. "Nightmerica II was way better than the original."

"Are you even hearing yourself?" Sam asked, pointing her salad fork at Tucker. "Originals are always better."

"You just didn't like What's-His-Face in the second one," Tucker argued.

"Of course, I didn't, he was the idiot that got everyone killed," Sam said, crunching down on a carrot. "But that's not the point."

"This has a point?" Danny asked. He'd been watching the argument since they exited the school building to spend their lunch hour outside, enjoying the last few days of sunny warmth before October came. At least, Danny and Tucker we're enjoying the sun; they chose a table near the trees so Sam could sit in the shade, across from the boys.

"Eat me," Sam said. "Anyways, I'm not going."

"Come on," Tucker said, finally looking up from his PDA. "Even if it sucks, it's still a Nightmerica."

"Just take that one girl you've been talking to," Danny said.

"Jenny? Yeah, maybe," Tucker said, shrugging. "Wait, does this mean you're not going either?"

"Not on your life."

"Oh, okay, I get it," Tucker said, rolling his eyes. "You guys are going to leave me to try to get past second base with Jenny the sophomore while you're busy bumping uglies."

"Tucker," Sam hissed as Danny sharply elbowed him.

"Oh, sorry," Tucker said, clearly not sorry. Danny was about to scold him further, but a cold breath slithered out of his mouth.

"Fuck," Danny said, diving under the table. "Cover me."

Sam laid across the bench, pretending to grab something from her backpack and blocking Danny from the view of anyone in the main population that happened to look over. He quickly turned into Phantom.

Tucker pulled the Fenton thermos from his bag, handing it to his best friend as he jumped out from under the table.

Screams came from the front of school and Danny sighed as he heard the distinct laugh of Vlad Plasmius.

"We'll meet you out front," Sam said, pulling on her bag, trying to look like she wasn't talking to Danny, as he was already drawing the usual attention that came with being Danny Phantom.

Danny nodded and flew towards the school entrance, almost immediately spotting Vlad's flashy white costume among the flood of students running in fear.

Danny shot up higher, so he was floating only a few feet away from his archenemy. Also known as the guy that wanted to bang his mom.

"How come you never try to terrorize my school when I'm in Geometry?" Danny said, his arms crossed.

"A good education is very important, Daniel," Vlad said, zapping a tree branch and making it crash onto the ground.

"Can we just hurry this up?" Danny asked. "I'd kind of like to just kick your ass and finish my lunch."

"How's Jack?" Vlad asked, like they were having a chat over coffee and not two half ghost beings about to engage in combat.

"He's great," Danny said. "Mom's great too. You know, being married to the love of her life and all."

"Very funny, Daniel, very funny."

"Not a joke," Danny shrugged. Vlad was about to deliver what would likely be a witty comment about Danny's inferior powers when Danny interrupted him with the heel of his boot to the elder ghost being's face.

Vlad spiraled downward, nearly hitting the ground, but he pulled up just in time. He pitched himself forward, his hands outstretched to ring the neck of the ghost boy, but Danny swerved and just missed Vlad's attack.

"You little-," Vlad's insult was again cut off with a blow from Danny's fist.

"Great shot, Invis-O-Bill," Dash yelled from the ground. Danny looked down briefly and found that most students had directed their attention upward. He spotted Sam and Tucker glaring at Dash.

"You have fans," Vlad said, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, not the kind of fans I want," Danny said.

"Yes, what's the point of being a good guy if you don't get a hoard of attractive young women to fawn over you?"

"Oh, well, I have that," Danny said, jerking his thumb to a group of cheering girls on the ground with shirts that had sayings like "Ghost Lover" or "Invis-O-Babe". Lancer had them cover up the more inappropriate ones like "Phuck Me, Phantom". Sam had joked that she wanted one for Hanukah. Danny had been flattered by this, until Tucker suggested they get matching ones.

"Of course, you do," Vlad said, rolling his eyes.

"Don't be jealous, Vlad," Danny said, opening the thermos while Vlad was distracted. "I'm sure your cats are cheering you on."

Vlad didn't even have the time to curse Danny before he was pulled into the thermos in a flash of light. Danny capped it and twirled it around his finger.

"Don't be a show off," Sam yelled from the ground. Danny switched the thermos to his middle finger and giving the bird to his best friend.


End file.
